This disclosure relates to a media cartridge for a printer. In particular, this disclosure relates to improvements in the feeding of media from the media cartridge.
Many printers are designed to receive cartridges that provide a length of media for printing. Typically, the length of media is wrapped around a core and then fed from the inside of the cartridge during the printing process.
A cartridge of this kind is usually initially stored and transported separate from the printer itself. During the handling of the cartridge, the cartridge may be subject to vibration and various other types of motion that could result in the internal movement of the various parts of the cartridge, including the media.
It has been found that in many cartridges with rolls of media, the media may have a tendency to unwrap itself from the roll. This makes logical sense as a tightly wrapped roll will have a tendency to unravel to reach a lower energy state and a state of greater disorder or entropy.
However, this type of unraveling prior to or during use of the cartridge presents a number of problems. Specifically, if the media unrolls within the cartridge, then the media can pack itself against the side walls of the cavity. When this happens, any back feeding of the end of the media onto the roll is compromised, as there is no space in the internal cavity. As there is no space for the media to retract, this may result in bunching or jamming of the media along the media path or in the printing mechanism.
Hence, a need exists for an improved media cartridge. In particular, there is a need for a media cartridge with improved control of the media within the cartridge housing.